Rams survive shootout

STOCKTON - St. Mary's still has a better football team than Stagg, but the Delta Kings proved they belong in the same class with the Rams.

Stephen Roberson

STOCKTON - St. Mary's still has a better football team than Stagg, but the Delta Kings proved they belong in the same class with the Rams.

And that's saying something.

St. Mary's clinched at least a share of the Tri-City Athletic League championship and the league's top seed in the playoffs with a 43-34 road win over the Delta Kings on Friday.

Stagg quarterback Wayne Brooks and receiver Andre Lindsey connected on back-to-back long touchdown passes in the fourth quarter, which bookended a successful onside kick. That cut the Rams' lead from 40-20 to 40-34, but that's as close as the Delta Kings came.

The teams combined for nearly 700 yards of passing. St. Mary's junior quarterback Kaleb Parrish finished 24 for 36 for 321 yards with three touchdowns, two of them to wide receiver Jaelin Ratliff. For Stagg, Brooks was 26 for 41 passing for 364 yards with three touchdowns and a 76-yard scoring run, and Lester Williams had an 84-yard kickoff return for a touchdown.

"We knew they were going to come in and play hard. We just had to match that emotion," Ratliff said. "We just had to match their emotion. We did, and that's why we won."

Stagg answered a number of St. Mary's knockdown punches, preventing them from becoming knockout blows. The Rams scored 14 points in game's first 1:36. Bryan Pascual gave the Rams a 7-0 lead on a 27-yard run. Two plays after Stagg lost a fumble on its first play from scrimmage, Parrish scored on an 8-yard keeper.

Brooks came right back with his long touchdown run on the first play of the ensuing drive to cut the deficit to 14-6.

Stagg trailed 26-13 late in the first half when things got interesting. Brooks found Williams for a 9-yard touchdown pass, and the Delta Kings recovered a fumble on the ensuing kickoff. But Stagg was flagged for a helmet-on-helmet hit, which officials ruled caused the fumble, and the Rams maintained possession.

"Our kids don't quit," Stagg coach Don Norton said. "They never have.

"We caught some tough breaks tonight. That would have been a huge break for us and a big momentum turn to get that touchdown, and then getting the ball back in their territory would have been a huge break for us."